The invention relates to a digital wireless communication system. In particular, the invention relates to cordless telephones and cellular networks.
A common type of wireless communication is the communication which occurs between a cordless telephone handset and its associated base unit within a limited distance range around the user""s home or business. Cordless telephones typically operate over a radio frequency (RF) portion of the spectrum set aside for general public use. Also, the power of the cordless phone signal is lower than other communication signals, because the signal needs to only be transmitted between the cordless handset and the associated base unit within the home or business of the user. Therefore, there is no user license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required to operate a cordless telephone. Ultimately the communication is carried from the associated base unit along a landline on the public telephone network to the connecting party; therefore the cost of the telephone call is regulated by the LEC which owns the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Another method of wireless communication is a regional cellular communication network which is operated by a cellular operator to enable the transmission of voice and data from a mobile station to a cellular base station over a specific band of frequencies, e.g., 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz, under license by the FCC. The bands are generally broken up into transmission channels and reception channels which each employ different bands of frequencies in the cellular spectrum. Cellular transmissions from the base station to the mobile station occupies the spectrum between 824 and 849 MHz with each transmission channel occupying about 30 KHz. Cellular reception from the mobile stations to the base stations generally occupy the spectrum between 869 and 894 MHz with each reception channel occupying about 30 KHz. As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, each of the transmission and reception bands are divided between two cellular service providers in each market and are referred to as xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d bands. Thus, each provider operates four hundred and sixteen pairs of transmission and reception frequency channels on which to provide service. Twenty-one of the four hundred and sixteen frequency channels pairs are ordinarily used as control channels to send control signals from the base station to the mobile station, thus only three hundred and ninety-five channels are actually available to transmit calls between the cellular base station and mobile station. The cellular service provider enlists subscribers who are authorized to communicate via the regional cellular network. Each subscriber must purchase a mobile station or handset which is capable of communication with the regional cellular network. The handset, at the time of manufacture, is assigned an electronic serial number (ESN). The ESN is generally stored in the permanent memory, such as an EEPROM, in the handset. The subscriber registers the mobile station with the regional cellular network and the mobile station is assigned a mobile identification number (MIN) by which the mobile station can be accessed. As the price of mobile stations decreases and the cost of air time decreases, the number of users that subscribe to regional cellular networks is increasing.
Recently, handsets have been disclosed which are capable of switching between communication with a cellular network and with an RF cordless telephone unit. Once the handset is in the proximity of the cordless telephone unit, the telephone unit is capable of receiving calls from both the public switched telephone network (via the RF cordless telephone unit) and the regional cellular network. Since the cellular and RF cordless communication systems utilize different frequency bands for communication, a handset that can communicate with both cellular and RF cordless base stations requires some significant additional hardware and software. In practice, a handset that can communicate with both types of base stations requires one transceiver that can communicate with cordless frequencies and one transceiver that can communicate with cellular frequencies as well as separate interface hardware between each transceiver and the main handset controlling hardware. Further, the main handset controlling hardware must be able to recognize and communicate with the different communications protocols required to communicate with the RF cordless telephone base station and with the cellular networks. The additional hardware required to communicate with both base stations increases the size and the weight of the handset. Further, the additional hardware increases the cost of the handset in a highly price-competitive market.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system is capable of communicating with a cellular network compatible mobile unit, also referred to as a mobile station herein. The cordless cellular base station, also referred to as a subregional base station, is preferably connected to a landline on a public switched telephone network and is assigned a landline number or phone number. The mobile station is registered with a cellular network and is assigned a mobile identification number. Advantageously, the mobile station is capable of communication with both a conventional regional cellular base station and to the cordless cellular base station utilizing the same cellular frequency range and communications protocol. When the mobile station is communicating with the cellular network, it is referred to as being in the regional cellular service mode. When the mobile station is communicating with the cordless cellular base station, it is referred to as being in cordless cellular telephone landline service mode.
The mobile station of the present invention advantageously communicates with the autonomous base station and with the regional cellular base stations of the cellular network utilizing the same frequency range and the same communications protocol. In a preferred embodiment, the communications protocol that is utilized is compliant with the IS-136, parts one and two, air interface standard which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The IS-136, parts one and two, standard is available from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Engineering Dept., 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. This standard provides in part for TDMA (time division multiple access) digital communications and is well known to those of skill in the art. The IS-136 standard is designed to ensure compatibility between cellular mobile telecommunication systems so that a mobile station can obtain service in any cellular system manufactured in accordance with the standard. Since the mobile station communicates with the cordless cellular base station and with the regional cellular base stations of the cellular network utilizing the same frequency range and the same communications protocol, the mobile station may be manufactured using similar hardware, such as a digital transceiver, and similar software to communicate with both the cordless cellular base station and the cellular network. Therefore, the overall size and the weight of the mobile station is not increased compared to conventional cellular telephones which are compatible with the IS-136 standard. Further, by reducing the amount of additional hardware and additional software necessary, the cost of the mobile station of the preferred embodiment is not much higher than conventional IS-136 compliant mobile stations. The cordless cellular base station is able to communicate with the mobile station and act as a conduit between the mobile station and the public switched telephone network. Further, despite the fact the mobile station is IS-136 compliant and can communicate with both analog and digital regional cells, the mobile station preferably communicates with the cordless cellular base station utilizing a digital control channel and corresponding digital traffic channels. By utilizing a digital channels, rather than analog and digital channels for communication with the mobile station, the hardware and software required to operate the cordless cellular base station is further reduced and thus the manufacturing costs are reduced.
In one aspect of the present invention, once a mobile station receives registration privileges with a particular cordless cellular base station, the mobile station automatically registers with the cordless cellular base station when the mobile station comes into proximity with the cordless cellular base station. As the number of cordless cellular base station users increases it becomes more likely that at least some cordless cellular base stations will be operating in close proximity to one another. With base stations present in adjoining houses, for example, it is not desirable to enable automatic registration for all mobile station users that come into proximity with a cordless cellular base station, because it is possible for one neighbor to inadvertently automatically register with another neighbor""s cellular base station. Advantageously, the automatic registration feature of the present invention allows the cordless cellular base station to restrict automatic registration to those users who have been previously pre-registered with a particular cordless cellular base station. By requiring preregistration, before automatic registration occurs, accidental automatic registration with a nearby cordless cellular base station is prevented while still providing the convenience of automatic registration for frequent users. In addition, the mobile station will not attempt to automatically register with a cordless cellular base station unless it has previously registered with that cordless cellular base station and knows on which channels to look for the cordless cellular base station.
In another aspect of the present invention, the cordless cellular base station maintains a cordless cellular base station registration list in a semipermanent portion of memory which stores the mobile system identification number of the mobile stations which have been previously been granted registration privileges with the cordless cellular base station.
In another aspect of the present invention, when a mobile station which is not presently involved in a call comes within range of a cordless cellular base station with which it has previously registered, in accordance with the preferred embodiment, it automatically switches from regional cellular service mode to cordless telephone landline service mode without user intervention. In another aspect of the present invention, the cordless cellular base station can process up to two active mobile stations at the same time. When two mobile stations are listed as active, the cordless cellular base station bridges the audio signal for the two mobile stations together such that each of the mobile stations is acting like an extension on a normal landline.
The cordless cellular base station is designed to operate in the residential home or small office environment. This active RF environment can be potentially very noisy because there may be no dedicated frequency spectrum allocated for the cordless cellular base station operation coupled with the fact that the frequency usage is not explicitly coordinated with the regional cellular network planning. The cordless cellular base station has to co-exist in the same cellular band used by the regional cellular network and views the regional cellular network as a source of background interference. The cordless cellular base station attempts to avoid the potential interference by the cellular network by choosing frequencies which, as far as the cordless cellular base station can determine, are not being used by nearby regional cells or by other nearby cordless cellular base stations. In another aspect of the present invention, the cordless cellular base station implements an avoidance mechanism which scans the frequencies in the cellular band and determines the best and next-best cellular frequencies for communication with the cellular network at all times.
The cordless cellular base station measures the potential interference on each channel and uses the interference measurements to form a score which is used in making the choice of an operating frequency. By selecting a frequency from those with the lowest interference scores, and by using appropriate channel abandonment thresholds, the cordless cellular base station attempts to avoid transmitting on any frequency which is already in use nearby the public or private cellular network or by other cordless cellular base stations within range. Preferably, the cordless cellular base station selects for its initial operational frequency, the frequency with the lowest interference score. The cordless cellular base station randomly selects for its backup frequencies, a specified number of downlink frequencies whose scores are below a high threshold value (Ht). Depending upon whether a call is in progress or whether a primary mobile station is registered, if the interference score of the current operational frequency rises above a first low threshold (Lt) or above the high threshold (Ht), the cordless cellular base station automatically switches its operational frequency to the first backup frequency as described in more detail below. The cordless cellular base station also removes backup frequencies from the back-up frequency list if the interference score for that backup frequency rises above the high threshold (Ht).
In another aspect of the present invention, the cordless cellular base station needs to locate a specified number of frequencies having score values below the high threshold value (Ht).
In another aspect of the present invention, in order to make the above measurements, the cordless cellular base station is designed to only transmit a half rate digital control channel (DCCH). Therefore, time slot 4 of the TDMA frame is not used to transmit DCCH information. When the cordless cellular base station is authorized for use and none of its registered mobile stations are processing a call, i.e., are in an active state, the cordless cellular base station performs an interference measurement during time slot 4 of the cordless cellular base station transmit time frame. When there are no calls being processed by the cordless cellular base station the receiver will be silent on timeslot 5 of the receive time frame; and if the transmitter does not transmit any information on timeslot 4 of the transmit time frame, the cordless cellular base station will not be generating any of its own interference and thus can make an accurate measurement of the interference generated on its own channel. Preferably, the cordless cellular base station performs interference measurements on both its receive or uplink frequencies and on its transmit or downlink frequencies.